Aug. 4 (UPI) -- Novavax on Tuesday announced that an early-stage clinical trial of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate generated favorable immune response results.
The Phase I trial of the potential vaccine, named NVX-CoV2373, featured 131 healthy adults aged 18-59 at two sites in Australia.
The company said 106 participants received one of four dose levels of the vaccine candidate, some of which contained an adjuvant -- an ingredient designed to enhance immune response -- and some that did not.
The other 25 patients received a placebo.
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Each participant received two doses via intramuscular injection approximately 21 days apart, Novavax said.
The vaccine produced neutralizing antibodies in the candidates at a higher rate than observed in people who have recovered from COVID-19. Novavax said immune response for those who had the adjuvant was also stronger.
"All subjects developed anti-spike IgG antibodies after a single dose of vaccine, many of them also developing wild-type virus neutralizing antibody response, and after Dose 2, 100% of participants developed wild-type virus neutralizing antibody responses," Novavax said.
Additionally, the company said the vaccine was well tolerated by the candidates and no serious adverse effects were reported.
Tenderness and pain were the most frequent symptoms after the first dose with less frequent individual symptoms such as headache, fatigue and myalgia. One participant experienced a mild fever after the second dose, the company said.
Novavax is one of multiple companies developing COVID-19 vaccine candidates throughout the world. Johnson & Johnson announced "robust" immune response in monkeys last week, while Moderna and Pfizer have also begun late-stage trials.
